New Delhi, June 11 Suffering from metabolic syndrome? A handful of almonds daily may help improve your health, according to a study.
People with metabolic syndrome have at least three of the conditions like abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of "good" cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides.
Scientists at Oregon State University (OSU), US, showed that eating 2 ounces of almonds -- about 45 nuts -- daily led to signs of better cardiometabolic and gut health.
The research, published in the journal Nutrition Research, is important because almost 40 per cent of the US adult population is estimated to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that significantly increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Metabolic syndrome has also recently been linked with cognitive dysfunction and dementia.
"Evidence suggests that people with metabolic syndrome are three times as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke and twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease compared to people without this condition," said Emily Ho, director of OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute.
"Poor diet and inactivity contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome, and gut health and chronic inflammation may also play roles," Ho said.
For the study, the team devised a 12-week clinical trial involving two groups of people aged 35-60 with metabolic syndrome.
One group ate 320 calories worth of almonds every day. The other ate crackers with the same caloric value but without many of the healthy fats, protein, and micronutrients found in almonds.
At four weeks and again at 12 weeks, blood samples from the almond snackers showed, as expected, a marked increase in vitamin E -- an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound found in almonds.
In addition to vitamin E, almonds have polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, fibre, polyphenols, biotin, copper, potassium, and magnesium.
The researchers also saw changes in other important health biomarkers among people in the almond group, including declines in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (often referred to as "bad" cholesterol), and waist circumference.
Almond snacking also appeared to help limit gut inflammation, an indicator of gut health.
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